“I’m so sorry,” Mike said. “I didn’t realize she’d be back today.”
“I thought she was on holiday for three weeks?”
“She was.” He closed the office door and whispered, “She was meant to be getting married abroad. They got drunk and had a huge argument and got kicked out of their hotel, so they had to come back.”
I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. “So now that she’s back, you don’t need me?”
“You can stay if you like,” he said. “You’d have to work in the admin office with the others, though.”
We looked out of his office window into the admin office beyond. The woman from the reception desk was there now, telling her story to an avid crowd.
“I’ll give that a miss, I think.”
“I don’t blame you.” He shook my hand. “Thanks for all the work you’ve done. I really appreciate it. I’ll call Lesley and make sure you’re paid to the end of the week.”
I raced out to my car, feeling giddy with relief that I was getting out of there.
* * *
• • •
I didn’t know where I was going to when I set off, but found myself heading toward Nantwich, a little market town about forty miles from home. I hadn’t been there for months and for a while I walked along the narrow streets, looking at the shops and wishing I had the money to buy something. I was happy to leave that job but I had to find something else now.
As I walked down the street toward the market square, I saw a café that I hadn’t noticed before. At the front of the shop was a counter where customers could buy cakes and homemade bread, then there was a seating area beyond. The café area was pretty empty but looked warm and welcoming. There was a bookshop next door and I went in to buy the latest Kate Atkinson novel that I’d just seen reviewed in the papers, then returned to the café and sat at the back at a table on my own.
I sent Tom a message:
Any interest in the house?
He replied pretty quickly: There have been a few viewers over the last couple of days. I’ll let you know how it goes, if you’re sure you want to sell x
I wondered whether he wanted to sell. Whether he wanted me back. I could see the man I used to love now. If he stayed like that, I knew I could be happy with him.
Another text came through.
Are you OK for money? Let me know if you need anything x
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want him to know how little I had and how worried I was. I’d always been proud that I’d supported myself; now wasn’t the time to lose my independence.
The waitress came over and I made my order, preoccupied with how to respond to Tom’s message. Just as she turned away, the door opened and Harry walked in.
CHAPTER 58
Ruby
I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
He stood making conversation with the woman behind the counter. He said something to her and she burst out laughing. He was like that. Everyone was charmed by him. I stayed still, not wanting to draw attention to myself. I was so aware of him it seemed as though my whole body was buzzing. Alert. For a moment I forgot how he’d treated me; all I could feel was relief that I’d seen him again, that he was alive and well. Then a surge of anger rose in me and I wanted to punch his lights out for what he’d done to me.
He seemed to be choosing boxes of cakes. I heard him say, “I need a couple of dozen. Mix them up but make sure there are a few éclairs or there’ll be a fight,” and his voice was so familiar that my throat ached.
I looked at my watch. It was just before two o’clock. And then I remembered that one of his suppliers was nearby. Had he had a lunch meeting with them this morning? Was he going back to the office and treating the staff to cakes, or was he taking twenty-four cakes home to his pregnant wife?
When he took out his wallet to pay, I looked away quickly and stared down at my book on the table. I opened it at a random place and tried to read what it said. I could hardly make out one word. I didn’t want to talk to him. I couldn’t think of one civil thing I might say.
And then the air seemed to shift and I knew he was there, standing over me. I hadn’t heard him, hadn’t seen him, but I knew. I kept my eyes fixed firmly on my book.
“Hello, Ruby.” He sounded nervous, as he should. “What are you doing here?”
I had to look up then. I didn’t know whether to slap him or kiss him. I pressed myself back in my seat to stop myself from doing either.
My mouth was suddenly dry and I had to swallow before I could speak. “Hello, Harry. I didn’t see you there.” It wasn’t convincing, I knew. “I was just reading my book.”
“Do you mind if I sit down?”
I shrugged.
He pulled a chair out opposite me and sat down, putting his boxes of cakes on the table next to us. “Oh, Kate Atkinson. I like her.” He took the book out of my hands. It was open at the center pages. He read a line or two, then looked at the cover. “What’s it about?”
“No idea,” I said abruptly.
He gave a nervous laugh; he’d never known me to be rude. “How have you been?”
“Fine. Everything’s hunky-dory, thank you.”
Just then the waitress arrived with my hot chocolate and coffee cake. “That looks good,” he said. “Mind if I join you?”
I glared at him, but he turned to the waitress. “I’ll have black coffee and the same cake, thanks.”
We sat in silence until she returned with his order. I kept my head down. I didn’t want to talk to him or even look at him. When the waitress was safely back in the kitchen, he reached out to touch my hand. I snatched it away.
“Ruby, I’m so sorry.”
Suddenly my throat was swollen with tears and I couldn’t say a word.
“I know we can’t be friends,” he said. “That would be too odd after all we went through, but surely we can chat if we bump into each other?”
“All we went through?” I couldn’t believe it. “We? I’m the person without a job or a home, thanks to your bright idea that we should leave our partners. I don’t think you’ve been through much at all, have you?” My heart was pounding. “Oh, wait. Are you suffering early labor pains?”
He winced. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about the baby face-to-face. I know it must have hurt you.”
“And you think dumping me wouldn’t hurt me?”